Journey To Texas

I am very happy today to have the writings of a wonderful young lady whose statuses on Facebook has often prompted me to write a blog post or two. This story is in several parts. So make sure to tune in everyday to see how it unfolds.

 

I was very anxious to see my little brother during the Airmen’s Run, as that would be the first time that we would all see him since he left us in North Carolina for Texas. Dad was religious about sending Blake a letter every day while he was gone, as he remembered how great it was to receive mail while “in hell.” I sent Blake several letters… or, well, cheesy cards… a week, so I was making an effort to stay in contact with him. In total, our family probably received about seven or so letters from him, and only one card was addressed to me. To say that that was discouraging would be an understatement, but I tried to remember that Blake didn’t have a lot of time to write to us. The few phone calls that we did get made up for it.

We all knew that Blake would look different, as he had his hair shaved and they issued him glasses while at basic training, but we also expected that we’d recognize him. We hadn’t heard from Blake in a while prior to leaving for our long drive to Texas, so we assumed that no news was good news and that he must have indeed passed basic training. We made signs and had matching shirts for the Airmen’s Run, which is when all of the trainees run together in their flights and their families and friends see them for the first time. Dad’s sign was the typical “Congrats” sign, Danielle’s sign said “Keep Calm and Call Mom,” and my sign said “You Gotta Risk it for the Biscuit,” which is a saying that Blake used to say a lot. Mom had her camera wrapped around her neck, which is typical of her.

mayo signs

We looked and looked and looked as the different flights passed by us and sang their AF jodies (songs). We didn’t see Blake when the trainees passed us the first time. All of the families around us were all smiling and talking about seeing their boys. Mom and Dad looked devastated. “Are you sure Blake graduated?” my sister asked, still looking out into the parade of runners. Mom shrugged and tried looking through the pictures that she took of his flight to see if she can find him. She did not. A father nearby tried to reassure us. “Maybe he was just running on the other side. I’m sure you’ll see him when they come back around.” Mom smiled and got her camera ready. While she took the photos, her smile began to disappear, as we all realized that we were still not recognizing Blake.

Tune in tomorrow to see if they find Blake.

mayo brooke 2Brooke is a wonderful and intelligent young lady who is entering her junior in college. She is the oldest of 4 children  and is very involved in the local community. I am very pleased that she offered to write for me while I am recovering from surgery. Hope you enjoy her writing as much as I have had.

 

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